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Los Angeles Lakers: 4 lessons from blowout win over Pelicans

By Ronald Agers

Jan 15, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) moves to the basket against New Orleans Pelicans guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (6) and forward Nicolo Melli (20) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 15, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) moves to the basket against New Orleans Pelicans guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (6) and forward Nicolo Melli (20) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope nearly burnt down the Staples Center with their hot shooting!

Take a look at the picture of LeBron going for the layup. He has a lot of room to get to the basket doesn’t he? Why? As you can see, Alex Caruso is standing in the right corner ready to shoot. Based on his performances lately, he probably would have hit the shot.

You can see Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the picture too. The way he’s shooting, he demands attention too.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope continued his hot streak knocking down four shots in six tries from distance on his way to 16 points. Only players in a zone hit shots like this.

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1350305621594148865

The only player hotter than KCP these days is Alex Caruso. He only played 18 minutes knocking down all of his three shots from the land of the extra point for 9 points. He added 4 assists, 3 rebounds, an assist and a block. He had an absurd plus/minus ratio of +28 in 18 minutes of play.

The Los Angeles Lakers came into the game ranked third in the NBA in 3 point shooting at 39.6 percent (Yes, the staff had to check on this!) and did little to hurt their ranking. They shot 15-37 for 40.5 percent.

The Lakers are shooting so well Anthony Davis and LeBron gave their rankings to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

LeBron’s take:

"“I mean, we got a lot of great shooters on the team, man,” James said. “KCP [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope], a great shooter. Wes Matthews, great shooter. Kuz [Kyle Kuzma] can shoot the heck out of the ball. Dennis the Menace [Dennis Schroder] can shoot the ball. AD [Anthony Davis] can shoot the ball. So we got a lot of great, knock-down shooters."

AD’s take:

"“I would have to say Kenny is always our guy who we always look to for shots,” Davis said, referring to Caldwell-Pope. “Wes is still struggling to find his consistent three. He’s been getting open looks, but I still put Wes up there. I put Bron third, just because of this year he’s been able to shoot the ball extremely well. Marc (Gasol) can shoot it. Marc is up there. And then I put myself. Dudz [Jared Dudley]. AC [Alex Caruso].”"

Frank Vogel’s vote goes to LeBron.

For the record, these are the top 3 point shooters by percentages.

  • Alex Caruso:  Shooting 14-24 for 58 percent.
  • Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: Shooting 21-38 for 55 percent.
  • Kyle Kuzma: Shooting 26-65 for 40 percent 
  • Wesley Matthews: Shooting 16-41 for 39 percent
  • LeBron James: Shooting 34-89 for 38 percent. This is the highest 3 point percentage since LeBron was in Miami back in 2013.

It is amazing how far KCP and Caruso has come in two years. Alex Caruso was just a guy that happened to start when the Lakers shut down the main roster in LeBron’s first disastrous year.

KCP went from a one point in two games player that had to be publicly defended by Caruso and Dwight Howard on social media last year to the Lakers third most consistent starter that lately can’t miss.

The final lesson is about an overlooked issue that will come down the road.

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